Learn to play bridge
in about ten minutes
Four players, 52 cards, one conversation before every hand. This page deals you in one piece at a time: the table, the deck, a trick, the auction, and the twist that makes bridge bridge. Tap anything that looks like a card.
Four seats, two teams
Bridge is a partnership game. The four seats are named for the compass, and your partner always sits across the table from you.
- You sit South. Your partner is North. Together you are one team.
- East and West are the other team. They sit on either side of you.
- Play goes clockwise. Deal, bid, play: everything moves to the left around the table.
One deck, four suits, thirteen each
A standard 52-card deck, no jokers. Every card is dealt, so each player holds exactly 13. Inside a suit the ace is highest and the two is lowest. Tap a suit to fan it out.
The suits have a rank too, and it matters in the auction: ♠ spades outrank ♥ hearts, which outrank ♦ diamonds, which outrank ♣ clubs.
Count high card points. Aces, kings, queens and jacks are the only cards worth points, and there are 40 in the deck. Deal yourself a hand and watch the count.
A trick is four cards, one from each
One player leads a card. Going clockwise, everyone else plays one card too. Those four cards are a trick, and the best card wins it for its team. A hand has 13 tricks, and the winner of each trick leads the next.
- Follow suit. If a spade is led, you must play a spade if you have one. This is the rule nobody at the table gets to break.
- Highest card of the suit led wins. A big card in a different suit counts for nothing.
- Out of that suit? Play anything. Your card cannot win, unless it is a trump.
- A trump beats every other suit. If hearts are trumps, the two of hearts beats the ace of spades.
West leads the ♠7. Everyone must follow with a spade.
Before the play, a conversation
Every hand starts with an auction. Each player, starting with the dealer, either bids or passes. A bid names a number and a suit, and it is a promise: six tricks plus that number, with that suit as trumps. Bid "no trump" and the hand is played with no trump suit at all.
- Every bid must be higher than the last. Higher means a bigger number, or the same number in a higher-ranking suit. Clubs are lowest, then diamonds, hearts, spades, and no trump on top.
- Once someone bids, three passes in a row end the auction. The last bid standing is the contract. If all four players pass at the start, the hand is thrown in and redealt.
- The team that won the auction tries to make the contract. One of them plays the cards and is called the declarer. The other team defends.
- When do you bid? With 12 or more high card points you usually open the bidding. With less, you pass and wait to hear from partner.
Tap a bid to hear what it promises. Lowest bid is bottom left, highest is top right.
Teal outline: a game bonus if you make it.
Gold outline: a slam, with a bigger bonus still.
The dummy: bridge's signature twist
The auction is over. The defender to declarer's left leads the first card. Then the declarer's partner lays every card face up on the table, sorted by suit, and takes no further part in the hand. That hand is the dummy.
- Declarer plays both hands. Their own cards and the dummy's, choosing each card in turn. Two hands, one mind.
- The defenders see it too. Everyone at the table plans around the dummy. That is why bridge rewards thinking, not just the cards you were dealt.
- Dummy gets a rest. Time to top up the coffee, or watch partner sweat.
Scoring, in one breath
Make your contract and you score points for every trick you bid. Fall short and the defenders score instead. Bid and make a contract worth 100 or more and you collect a game bonus, which is where the big scores live.
Only the tricks above six count. Bid 3NT and make nine tricks: 40 + 30 + 30 = 100. That is game.
These are the contracts every beginner learns to aim for.
Your first hand, start to finish
Every hand of bridge follows the same five beats. The shape never changes. What changes is what you do inside it.
Ten words you will hear at any table
Tap a card to turn it over.
Three questions, no pressure
No trumps. Who wins this trick?
How many high card points is this hand?
Declarer is in 3NT. How many tricks must they take?
You know the game. Now play it
The fastest way to learn bridge is to play a hand before you feel ready. The free Starter Kit covers your first evening at the table, and the links below take you to a real deal tonight.